Monthly archives: April 2018
Latest Oracle ERP Cloud news
Overall Status Progression
Finance and Procurement both went live by their target go-live dates.
Highlights & Concerns
There are a number of issues facing requisitioners in submitting requisitions with incorrect approvers and performance issues that affects the authorisation hierarchy showing on screen.
What is next?
Oracle are working on the issues on the system on behalf of the Trust. In the interim please read the guidance notes below regarding the hierarchy and also contact the Oracle ERP team if other issues are identified.
Guidance Notes
At the requisition stage the requisitioner needs to click on ‘Manage Approvers’ this will either produce an error, or show the approval hierarchy. If the error shows, press back and try the ‘Manage Approvers’ again. We have found this can take 3-4 attempts to work, which is extremely frustrating but will ensure the requisition proceeds to the approval stage (which doesn’t appear to have any issues). If the hierarchy is not shown or isn’t correct for your own hierarchy, please contact the finance systems team and we will fix the issue before submitting the requisition. We are getting a number of requests and are prioritising key areas.
Your library your say survey
The library team would be grateful if you would take the time to complete the below survey. The results will help inform our strategy and improve the service that we provide for you. You can also enter our prize draw to win a £20 book voucher.
Complete the survey online at
OR
Paper copies can be found at and returned to the drop boxes in Sandwell Library, Education Centre and City Library, Postgraduate Education Centre.
The survey will close on 4 May.
Chief Executive’s Message – Friday 6 April
Although media reports of yesterday’s Trust Board may feature Midland Met our discussions were in practice dominated by three things.
We sought to agree a budget for the year ahead. We are not there in balancing the books. We have a variety of ideas to make income match expenditure, whilst funding new investments in things we all value. Over the next few weeks you will see proposals for new car parks to ease the pressure on us, investments in midwifery staffing, as well as restrictions on some expenditures that we can live without – we have plenty of spare furniture and will be looking to up-cycle not buy more. The big changes as ever though will come from three changes:
- Revised staffing numbers in some specific parts of the Trust, recommended by clinical leaders and tracked for safety and unintended consequences .
- Changes to the goods, medicines and services that we buy to standardise products Trust-wide, and where possible doing the same across primary care too.
- Changes in how many patients we treat on some theatre lists to reduce waiting times and safely increase our income.
Everyone appreciates the huge effort that has gone into preparing a balanced financial plan for the year ahead, to enable to us to spend more on what matters most. Over the next three months we aim to reduce our expenditure by £3m, and this will demand changes in approach in a variety of areas. This does not mean money is suddenly more important than safety or quality. It does though mean that we need to take due care of our finances in order to be able to invest in safety and quality.
Secondly, we spent a great deal of time discussing how to improve quality further in our organisation. I wrote last week here about the success we are having in medicine and among community teams in improving discharge safety and experience. The focus this time of Board discussion was avoidable, or potentially avoidable, deaths. In March we focused on Sepsis awareness and treatment. Next month David Carruthers, our medical director, will make further specific proposals to the Board on how we move from having slightly more deaths in our care than we expect, to having fewer than we would expect, through action over the next two years. Of course most deaths in our care are expected, and our outstanding end of life care service is all about the quality of the last few years and weeks of someone’s life and what we can do to meet need. But we have work to do to match the very best services in the NHS, who face the same pressures and challenges we do, in ensuring that consistently we offer care that is best practice. Look out for more detail on that in the next three months, but I know David would value your ideas and suggestions.
And finally, in no small part down to the advocacy of Elaine Newell, at her final Board meeting, we met Nicole and Misty. Misty is an assistance dog, and our organisation now has a very clear approach and policy around pets in clinical environments. This supersedes prior practice and is something I hope that you will welcome.
You will have seen publicity over the last ten days for the government’s proposed pay deal for many, though not all, NHS staff. The trade union consultation on this continues until later this spring and we will know then whether it is to proceed. By that time too it will be possible to understand how the promised extra funding will come our way. There are some impacts for us specifically from the deal. One is that the minimum wage we set two years ago will be matched nationally. A second is that the pay escalator that was our Heartbeat front page story in March will also need to be adapted, as the NHS as a whole will adopt something closer to our approach. This is all good news but as we aim to maintain our stunning recruitment success over the last year, we want to continue to find ways to differentiate working here, from choosing to work somewhere else. Part of that story remains our investment in training and development. Over 5,000 colleagues now have their PDR booked to complete before June 30th, and over the fortnight all employees and line managers need to get themselves booked in. This intense period of objective setting will provide a springboard to both showing how each of us can contribute to quality, but also confirming what is needed in terms of development and training. Our training budget remains ring-fenced.
Back to Midland Met – after the considerable frustration of not being able to yet sign off an interim contractor, we are continuing to work to select the best option for the rapid completion of the new hospital. We are now working through the clinical implications we would face if indecision continues and we cannot get the new build open by 2020. There is though a definite route to do just that and we continue to meet with funders and officials with that aim in mind. Without boring anyone with the twists and turns I hope you feel that you are being given an indication of progress as we go. Midland Met is a vital part of our future and our future plans, and is of course, an investment in quality, made possible by sensible financial management over the last decade.
#hellomynameis….Toby
Disruption to traffic on Hallam Street during gas works
Further to previous messages, Cadent Gas Limited are carrying out essential gas work on Hallam Street that is planned to last approximately 39 weeks.
The second preparatory works will be from today (Friday 6 April) until Tuesday 10 April when Cadent will be carrying out trial holes. This will require 2-way temporary traffic lights situated outside Black Country Mental Health Resource Centre and will impact on the main entrance onto site from Hallam Street.
The bus stop directly outside the Main Entrance to Sandwell General Hospital will be closed for the duration of the works, please use the closest alternative bus stop further down Hallam Street.
Whenever the use of traffic management is needed, the contractors will work with the Trust and Local Authority Highways Department to try and keep any disruption to a minimum, but there will be an obvious impact both to the traffic flow and to the access to/egress from our car parks at times during the length of the works.
Thank you in advance for your understanding and patience during this major work project.
6 month extension for new entrants to the childcare voucher scheme
The government has announced that the Childcare Vouchers scheme will remain open to new entrants for a further six months, meaning it will now close in October 2018 (previously it was due to close to new entrants from April 6 2018).
If you would like to find out more about the scheme, you can read more on the Edenred website.
Smoking cessation services
Do you or your patients want to stop smoking?
Smoking Cessation Practitioners are available Monday to Thursday and can be bleeped on 5719.
To find out more or to self-refer contact Occupational Health on ext. 3306, option 4
Vaisakhi and Rama Navami celebration
A Vaisakhi and Rama Navami celebration will be taking place in the chapel at City Hospital (1st floor opposite D20) today (Thursday 5 April) from 12.30pm – 2pm, with the religious ceremony taking place at 12.30pm.
For further information please contact the chaplaincy department on ext. 4055.
Welcome to our new Chief Nurse, Paula Gardner
New Chief Nurse, Paula Gardner, starts with us today and will spend the next four weeks out and about across the Trust meeting leaders, colleagues, volunteers, patients and families before Elaine Newell retires at the end of the month.
Paula is keen to talk to as many people as possible so do stop and say hello if you see her.
Through the communications bulletin we will highlight her planned visits so you can arrange to meet Paula.
Torvill and Dean’s dancing on ice – discounted tickets
The organisers of Torvill and Dean’s dancing on ice have kindly offered Trust employees discounted tickets for the evening performances at Arena Birmingham on Friday 13 April at 7.30pm and Sunday 15 April at 6.30pm
Tickets in price bands £B and £C have been reduced to £23.50 (including admin fees) + £2.55 fulfilment fee.
Tickets can only be purchased as an e-ticket in advance from The Ticket Factory website here – look for the gold star on the £B & £C tickets.
For more information please contact amir.ali1@nhs.net
EMRT: Debrief and discussion
Interested in the Emergency Medical Response Team? Why not join us for one of debriefs and discussions at the Postgraduate Centre at City Hospital or the Education Centre at Sandwell Hospital from 2.15pm – 2.45pm.
It’s open to all and there are no specific entry criteria for the meeting.
Upcoming dates for EMRT debriefs and discussions:
- April 18 – City
- May 9 – Sandwell
- May 30 – Sandwell
- June 20 – City
- July 11 – Sandwell
For more information please contact Jonathan Hulme on 0121 507 4343.
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